2 Samuel 15 Cross References - BSB

¹ Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him. ² He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,” ³ Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has no deputy to hear you.” ⁴ And he would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land, then everyone with a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵ Also, when anyone approached to bow down to him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. ⁷ After four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD. ⁸ For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’” ⁹ “Go in peace,” said the king. So Absalom got up and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’” ¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter. ¹² While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing. ¹³ Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” ¹⁴ And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.” ¹⁵ The king’s servants replied, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.” ¹⁶ Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace. ¹⁷ So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house, ¹⁸ and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath. ¹⁹ Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. ²⁰ In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!” ²² “March on then,” said David to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³ Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness. ²⁴ Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had passed out of the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again. ²⁶ But if He should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan. ²⁸ See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there. ³⁰ But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” ³² When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴ But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’ ³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace. ³⁶ Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.” ³⁷ So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

¹⁶ But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

¹¹ He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.

¹¹ This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.

⁵ At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.

³³ “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

²⁶ Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. ²⁹ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

² When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹ He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his gate high invites destruction.

¹⁴ who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion. ¹⁵ Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him. ¹⁶ He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.

¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁶ “Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”

²⁶ And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

¹ Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

⁸ So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home.

¹⁶ At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us. ¹⁹ During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom. ²¹ The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.” ²² “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king. ²³ Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’” ²⁴ The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword, ²⁵ and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” ²⁶ Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!” ²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.” ²⁸ When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

¹⁴ When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.

¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.

¹ When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.

¹² Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

¹⁷ Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.

³ They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

¹³ Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us? ¹⁴ Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

¹⁵ Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

² They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

² The good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.

¹¹ There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

¹⁷ As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.

⁷ Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.

²¹ In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

⁵ “Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

¹⁷ Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁰ Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

¹ Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother, ² “Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.” ³ And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him. ⁵ He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

²⁹ If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’”

⁶ Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men;

² Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.

⁸ “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited. ⁹ Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

³³ So Joab went and told the king, and David summoned Absalom, who came to him and bowed facedown before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.

⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net. ¹⁰ They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength.

²¹ His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

²⁵ When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.

⁹ With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

¹ Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.” ² “How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

²⁴ And he went to the king and said, “Your servant has just hired shearers. Will the king and his servants please come with me?” ²⁵ “No, my son,” the king replied, “we should not all go, or we would be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he was not willing to go, but gave him his blessing. ²⁶ “If not,” said Absalom, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.” “Why should he go with you?” the king asked. ²⁷ But Absalom urged him, so the king sent Amnon and the rest of his sons.

³⁸ After Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, he stayed there three years.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!

⁴ You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.

⁸ And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”

¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.

¹⁵ But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

¹¹ And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”

² “How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

³⁷ Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ After Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, he stayed there three years.

²³ So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

³² “Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

¹² Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.

¹⁵ For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

³ “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD. ⁴ “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander. ⁵ Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.

²⁰ For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us and we will do it.’

¹ Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.

¹¹ And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

² And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; ³ his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

²⁸ Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

³⁰ Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

¹⁰ But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”

³⁴ There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

¹³ Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where David made a covenant with them before the LORD. And they anointed him king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD through Samuel.

²³ Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:

³⁸ All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David king.

⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? ⁶ Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’ ⁸ He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. ⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him. ¹⁰ His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth. ¹¹ The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust. ¹² Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, ¹³ though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, ¹⁴ yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him. ¹⁵ He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach. ¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. ¹⁷ He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. ¹⁸ He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. ²⁰ Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. ²¹ Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. ²² In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him. ²³ When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats. ²⁴ Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. ²⁵ It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him. ²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath. ²⁹ This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

⁵ Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

¹³ As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”

³ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ “In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

¹⁵ Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant knew nothing of this whole affair—not in part or in whole.”

¹⁵ The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

³ The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

¹⁶ Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

¹ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

¹⁴ So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³⁰ So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages.

³¹ Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?” ²¹ Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. ²³ Now in those days the advice of Ahithophel was like the consultation of the word of God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.

¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

⁹ In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people.

¹² They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people.

³³ Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.

¹ A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, how my foes have increased! How many rise up against me! ² Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah

⁹ Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

¹ Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men. ² For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?

¹⁶ To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips? ¹⁷ For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers. ¹⁹ You unleash your mouth for evil and unharness your tongue for deceit. ²⁰ You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. ²¹ You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

¹² For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide. ¹³ But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. ¹⁴ We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? ¹³ Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. ¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

⁵ Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. ⁶ For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

¹⁸ I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

³ And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

³⁶ All the people took note and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them.

⁶ Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁹ Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

⁹ The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

²² “What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

⁹ And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom.

¹⁶ So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD, ¹⁷ saying, “Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this! Is this not the blood of the men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.

¹ A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, how my foes have increased! How many rise up against me! ² Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah ³ But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. ⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah ⁵ I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me. ⁶ I will not fear the myriads set against me on every side. ⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. ⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah

¹⁸ In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.

³ at the voice of the enemy, at the pressure of the wicked. For they release disaster upon me and revile me in their anger. ⁴ My heart murmurs within me, and the terrors of death assail me. ⁵ Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me. ⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest. ⁷ How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah ⁸ I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.” ⁹ O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they encircle the walls, while malice and trouble lie within. ¹¹ Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function. ⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!

¹⁸ The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his property.’”

¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it.

¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades!

²⁴ A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

²⁸ You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials. ²⁹ And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me,

⁶⁶ From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you.

¹⁰ where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

²⁷ Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you.

⁴² So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.

²¹ Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

³ When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he no longer slept with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

¹ A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, how my foes have increased! How many rise up against me!

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

¹² You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.

⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

³ David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”

¹⁰ So he was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD to the City of David; instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.

¹⁹ Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. ²⁰ In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!” ²² “March on then,” said David to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

² He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”

⁷ So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.

²³ Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;

³⁸ Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.

¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.

¹¹ But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands? ¹² Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, ¹³ would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”

¹³ Then David and his men, about six hundred strong, set out and departed from Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he declined to go forth.

⁶ Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.

¹⁰ All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.

⁸ You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?

³ He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.

¹⁵ They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.

⁷ May he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness to guard him.

¹⁰ Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

²² Do not those who contrive evil go astray? But those who plan goodness find loving devotion and faithfulness.

¹² People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains. ¹⁷ Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

¹⁶ But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

³ But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”

²⁶ Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

² and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

⁴ And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁶ And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

³⁰ And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁹ And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

³ I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you.

² “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

³⁷ On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

¹³ He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁶ So the priests went inside the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out to the courtyard all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the LORD. Then the Levites took these things and carried them out to the Kidron Valley.

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

¹ After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

⁹ But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.

³ and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.

⁶ And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.

¹⁵ Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

¹⁶ “Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.

⁴ Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”

³ When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that it shook the ground.

¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.

¹³ When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;

²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.

³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace.

²⁵ Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.

³⁵ And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

² and these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁸ Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz, ⁹ Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Johanan, ¹⁰ Johanan was the father of Azariah, who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem, ¹¹ Azariah was the father of Amariah, Amariah was the father of Ahitub, ¹² Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Shallum,

² Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”

¹¹ It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.

¹³ With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.

³ When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that it shook the ground. ⁶ On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹ Take courage and be men, O Philistines! Otherwise, you will serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!” ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹⁷ So they brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

² he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ ¹¹ This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.

⁸ O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.

⁴ One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. ⁵ For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God. ² My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?

³ Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell. ⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

¹ A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water. ² So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.

¹ For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts! ² My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. ³ Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altars, O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God.

¹⁰ For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

²² And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”

⁴ Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

³⁰ So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth.

⁸ If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us.

¹⁵ “We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”

¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

²⁰ He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

⁹ Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

⁸ Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God. Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, He has made you king over them to carry out justice and righteousness.”

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

⁹ I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.

¹ “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

⁴ No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.

²⁸ Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?

⁴¹ Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)

³⁴ But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’

³⁶ Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be seen entering the city.

¹¹ When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

⁵ All these sons of Heman the king’s seer were given him through the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

²³ Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.

¹ Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.

¹⁶ Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

⁴ But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.

³ My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

⁵ Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. ⁶ He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

² the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot. ³ Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush, ⁴ so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.

³ The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. ⁴ The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

²³ Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.

⁴ On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

²⁹ As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples,

³⁷ And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

⁴¹ As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

³⁷ Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

³⁹ Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near the city, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

¹² While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.

²³ Now in those days the advice of Ahithophel was like the consultation of the word of God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.

¹² He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

¹⁶ True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His. ¹⁷ He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges. ¹⁸ He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. ¹⁹ He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established. ²⁰ He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.

¹² For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.

¹⁴ We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God. ¹⁵ Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

³ They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.

³ Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.

¹¹ The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”? ¹² Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray. ¹⁴ The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit. ¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed. ¹⁶ In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them. ¹⁷ The land of Judah will bring terror to Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble over what the LORD of Hosts has planned against it. ¹⁸ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the Sun. ¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near her border. ²⁰ It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender to rescue them. ²¹ The LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and on that day Egypt will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them. ²² And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will hear their prayers and heal them. ²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ²⁴ In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing upon the earth. ²⁵ The LORD of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.”

⁸ How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception? ⁹ The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” ²⁰ And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

² It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth.

² On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

¹⁹ And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.

³⁰ But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

¹⁶ And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷ “Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸ “Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ Furthermore, whom should I serve if not the son? As I served in your father’s presence, so also I will serve in yours.”

⁴⁴ When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name, ⁴⁵ then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.

⁷ At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

³ But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. ⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah ⁵ I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

¹ For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer. ² How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah ³ Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.

¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

¹⁵ When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.

³⁵ I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

² And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.”

²⁰ In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.”

⁵ Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite as well, and let us hear what he too has to say.” ⁶ So Hushai came to Absalom, who told him, “Ahithophel has spoken this proposal. Should we carry it out? If not, what do you say?” ⁷ Hushai replied, “This time the advice of Ahithophel is not sound.” ⁸ He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops. ⁹ Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him. ¹¹ Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle. ¹² Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain. ¹³ If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found.” ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom. ¹⁵ So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised. ¹⁶ Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” ²⁰ But Joab replied, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running. ²² Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “Regardless of whatever may happen, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?” ²³ “No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. “Then run!” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite. ²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone. ²⁵ So he called out and told the king. “If he is alone,” the king replied, “he bears good news.” As the first runner drew near, ²⁶ the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king. ²⁷ The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.” ²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.” ²⁹ The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” And Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.” ³⁰ “Move aside,” said the king, “and stand here.” So he stepped aside. ³¹ Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!” ³² The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” And the Cushite replied, “May what has become of the young man happen to the enemies of my lord the king and to all who rise up against you to harm you.” ³³ The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹⁵ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶ And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”